South Asian Female Representation in Hollywood

Source: Wikimedia

This page will demonstrate that, despite popular Hollywood films being praised for their "positive representation", South Asian women are often portrayed in harmful ways that perpetuate stereotypes and are not progressive. It compares three famous films: "The Big Sick", "Bend It Like Beckham", and "Slumdog Millionaire", beginning with their plot and flawed portrayals of South Asian women. We see that these films received high praise in film circles worldwide, their popularity masking the underlying issues at hand, which are later described in a section on critiques of the films. Finally, there is a discussion on the importance of having positive forms of South Asian female representation, with the hope that moving forward, Hollywood eliminates patriarchal, heteronormative, stereotypical tropes from films.

Films

The Big Sick (dir. Michael Showalter)

Plot

Released in 2017, Pakistani-American actor and writer Kumail Nanjiani falls in love with his future wife, Emily V. Gordon, in this based-on-a-true-story romantic comedy full of drama and catharsis. Kumail's parents are devout Muslims, wanting him to marry a South Asian woman, and planning on an arranged marriage. What they do not know is that Kumail is dating Emily, a white woman, and Kumail keeps this secret from them as he continues to allow his parents to play matchmaker.

Emily is struck with a sickness that forces doctors to place her in a medically-induced coma, consequently after she had broken up with Kumail following an argument. Kumail is thus forced into navigating Emily's sickness with her parents, having met them for the first time, and they share their anger, frustration, and love for Emily with one another.

Portrayal of South Asian Women

South Asian women are represented in two forms: Kumail's mother, and the women who his parents introduce him to with the hopes of them being worthy suitors of their son. Both Kumail's mother and the brides-to-be have heavy, stereotypical accents, and wear traditional garb despite being portrayed as westernized, making their identities confusing, seemingly not fleshed-out in contrast to Emily. Kumail is resistant to the idea of marrying these women, but lets his parents string them along and invite them to dinner after dinner at their house, while keeping up the secret that he is dating a white woman. These South Asian women are presented as interchangeable, conventional, desperate figures, not given much screen time or growth in character.

Bend It Like Beckham (dir. Gurinder Chadha)

Plot

Released in 2002, Jesminder "Jess" Bhamra, is a UK teen of Punjabi descent in this coming-of-age comedy. A huge fan of football player David Beckham and a brilliant football player herself, Jess faces troubles when her family does not show support for her passion. Their lack of support stems from her mother not understanding why she loves sports, and her father is concerned with the potential of facing the same racism he experienced as a young man. Jess has an unorthodox lifestyle according to her parents, and thus, is stuck between choosing between a life of tradition or chasing her dreams.

Portrayal of South Asian Women

Jess stands in contrast to her older sister Pinky, who is preparing for her traditional Indian wedding and "a lifetime of cooking the perfect chapatti". Her sister is cast in a stereotypical role, subject to patriarchal gender norms expected of her in her heterosexual marriage. Jess is cast as an opposing figure, their attitudes and beliefs different and seemingly impossible to align. Jess is therefore a "rebellious" figure for rejecting the norms her family attempts to place upon her and instead learns "the rules of whiteness, and thus sustains the rule of whiteness as the norm". By portraying the sisters as opposing figures, with Jess being the protagonist viewers cheer on, the audience is led to believe that whiteness is ultimately what is desirable, or cultural capital, and that South Asian tradition is solely patriarchal and must be abandoned.

Slumdog Millionaire (dir. Danny Boyle)

Plot

Released in 2008, "Slumdog Millionaire" follows Jamal Malik, a young orphan from Mumbai who finds himself on India's "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?". Jamal is incredibly successful on the show, and is thus arrested on suspicion of cheating. Viewers learn that his success is due to his story, the questions relevant to his personal experience, with each chapter of his story revealing the answers he needs to win the game show.

Portrayal of South Asian Women

While South Asian men are presented as complex characters, South Asian women in "Slumdog Millionaire" are often not. Rather, women do not play a prominent role in the film, with the exception of one character.

An integral part of Jamal's story is a girl, Latika, who he loved and lost. Latika has little presence of her own, and acts as a passive sexual object for Jamal's brother, Salim, to lust after. Despite being a main protagonist, Latika is given little agency, her character lacking nuance and substance.

Film Critic Responses

Academy Awards. Source: Wikimedia

Despite poor portrayals of South Asian women, Hollywood films have received plenty of praise for highlighting diversity through "representation". The following flawed films did well in film circles, and received several nominations and awards from various award shows.

The Big Sick

Film Reviews

"The Big Sick" received a 98% "Certified Fresh" rating on the popular film review site Rotten Tomatoes.

Awards and Accolades

The film received 17 awards and 93 nominations, including a nomination for "Best Original Screenplay" at the 2018 Academy Awards.

Bend It Like Beckham

Film Reviews

"Bend It Like Beckham" received an 85% "Certified Fresh" rating on the popular film review site Rotten Tomatoes.

Awards and Accolades

The film received 17 awards and 20 nominations, including a nomination for "Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy" at the 2004 Golden Globes.

Slumdog Millionaire

Film Reviews

"Slumdog Millionaire" received a 91% "Certified Fresh" rating on the popular film review site Rotten Tomatoes.

Awards and Accolades

The film received 153 awards and 120 nominations, winning 8 Oscars at the 2009 Academy Awards, including "Best Motion Picture of the Year" and "Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay".

Critiques of "Representation"

The Big Sick

A specific scene in "The Big Sick" has received backlash from South Asian viewers who have found issues with how South Asian women are presented in the film. In this scene, Emily is having an argument with Kumail pre-coma, after having discovered a box of photos of the women his parents were trying to set him up with. She had previously known nothing about his family, and yet, responds in complete anger and ends their relationship.

In response to the anger that Emily demonstrates, Kumail burns the photos of the South Asian women, puts the ashes of the photos in a jar, and presents them to Emily in a supposed act of devotion and love. Viewers have called this scene a demonstration of "racialized, gendered violence" which exemplifies patriarchy and Kumail's proximity to whiteness. Thus, it has been labelled "traumatic", and demonstrates the harmful ways in which multiculturalism can lead to manifestations of whiteness in people of colour like Kumail.

Nanjiani has not responded to these criticisms.

Bend It Like Beckham

Audiences have reacted to the "prevalent villainization of women" in the film, concerned with how South Asian women stand in contrast to their male counterparts. Jess's mother is portrayed as an angry figure, constantly in argument with her daughter as she interrogates her about marriage, her body, and her lack of Indian behaviour. Instead of her father sharing similar personality traits, he is the opposite, supporting Jess and her love of sports. Jess's mother is the irrational figure, whereas her father is likeable and soft.

Not only is Jess's sister Pinky the stereotypical Indian female figure, she also stands as a judgemental gatekeeper of Jess's happiness. Pinky informs her parents that Jess is playing football in secret, against her parents' wishes, ultimately standing as a hurdle to success. Her villainization, coupled with that of her mother, is emblematic of the flawed portrayal of South Asian women in "Bend It Like Beckham" - a film that presents itself as progressive through the character of Jess, but ultimately is regressive.

Slumdog Millionaire

The character of Latika is presented in two forms: as either a victim, or a princess-like figure. Despite being a main protagonist, her character is underdeveloped in contrast to Jamal and Salim. As one viewer pointed out: "we only see Latika as a victim of various men or as the love interest of Jamal", a rape victim whose traumas are not addressed.

The film ultimately reinforces stereotypes of South Asian women as helpless victims, a harmful trope that persists in the West today. It oversimplifies the modes of resistance that South Asian women utilize to resist violence within their own communities, catering to the "lowest common denominator of universal experience." Rather than being shown as a strong and independent female character, Latika is subject to being saved by the male characters, as it appears as though they are her only hope in survival. She is a victim of patriarchy and its violence, not much else.

The Importance of Changing Representation

As demonstrated by the three films above, Hollywood maintains harmful tropes of South Asian women that are far from the progressive, positive portrayals that many wish to see. We see that despite the multi-year gap between the films release dates, little has been done to advance the narratives of South Asian women in film. Work must be done on behalf of filmmakers and specifically, writers, to shy away from the patriarchal, heteronormative, stereotypical tropes in films like "The Big Sick", "Bend It Like Beckham", and "Slumdog Millionaire".

Having positive forms of representation through the art of film is important not only for South Asian female audiences, but audiences worldwide from all backgrounds. Film has for long been dominated by cis-gender, wealthy white men, allowing them to constantly shift narratives. This power has allowed white supremacist, patriarchal, ableist, colonial narratives, among others, to either be overt or hidden in films. These narratives can be powerful, shifting viewers' perspectives, ultimately leading them to harmful understandings of marginalized that they categorize people under.